Socio-environmental tensioning in coastal communities: an interdisciplinary study in the mangroves of southern Bahia

Tensión Socioambiental en Comunidades Costeras: Un Studio Interdisciplinario en los Manglares del Sur de Bahía

Abstract

This article analyzes the connections between environmental vulnerability of the mangrove forests of Garapuá (Bahia, Brazil) and the social vulnerability of the shellfish colectors and fishermen, from the tensions inflicted with the insertion of the oil industry. From an interdisciplinary perspective, it presents the interpretation of complex phenomena and integrated management of the environment, incorporating the opening of the human spirit to the vision of totality. The seizure of the dialectical logic of local socio-environmental processes was based on the characterization of mangrove forests, using quantitative methods, and integration with the research process through field observations and semi-structured interviews, from the point of view of the qualitative approach. The article aimed to demonstrate that interdisciplinary analysis strengthens the debate in different segments of society (companies, environmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, universities, communities, etc.) and, consequently, tends to favor the transformation of the socio-environmental reality experienced by social groups without decision power.

Keywords:
Mangrove; Phytosociology; Oil industry; Socio-environmental vulnerability; Interdisciplinarity